The Effect of Behavioral Activation Therapy Based on Changing Lifestyle on Depression, Psychological Well-being and Feelings of Guilt in Children between 7-15 Years Old with Diabetes

Diabetes imposes restrictions on physical، emotional and social functioning of children and adolescents. Behavioral activation therapy (BAT) seeks to overcome the psychological problems of children with diabetes and increases the psychological well-being in them for a long time. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of BAT based on changing lifestyle on depression، psychological well-being and feeling of guilt in children between 7-15 years old with diabetes. The present study was a randomized clinical trial. The study population included all patients 7-15 years that referred to the diabetes association of Tabriz of whom 38 participants were selected using convenient sampling. They were randomly allocated into two equal groups including experimental and control. Therapeutic intervention was performed in 8 sessions of 70 minutes each. Data were collected before and after the intervention through completing questionnaires of Reynolds Child Depression Scale (RCDS)، Eysenck Feelings of Guilt Scale and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). After the treatment، depression and feeling of guilt scores in the intervention group significantly decreased in comparison with the control group (p<0. 001). Also، psychological well-being in the experimental group showed a significant increase in comparison with the control group (p<0. 001). BAT might be effective in diabetic children. The aforementioned treatment is suggested to be used in other psychosomatic diseases of children as a complementary treatment.